Amazon Fire TVs: Historic low prices for Presidents’ Day and a free Echo Dot!

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Amazon Fire TV 4-Series deals Amazon Fire TV Omni Series deals How to choose Why a Fire TV and not a Roku TV?Looking for more great Amazon deals? Check these out:

The Fire TV interface can be a little confusing compared with Roku, but voice controls help out a lot. — Amazon’s Fire TV 4-Series (shown here) offers great value, especially at this price, but it’s worth spending just a few dollars more to get one of the Omni models. (Photo: Amazon)

If you feel like Presidents’ Day doesn’t have much to do with TVs, Amazon wants you to think again: Every Fire TV model in Amazon’s lineup is discounted right now, with some prices actually beating Black Friday (!) and some models bundled with a free Amazon Echo Dot. (OK, there’s still no official Presidents’ Day tie-in, but this probably isn’t coincidence, either.)

Quick background: Last year, Amazon introduced the 4-Series and Omni Series, the company’s first self-branded TVs. (Best Buy has been doing this for a while with its Insignia lineup.) They’re already competitively priced, so these discounts represent some pretty significant savings.

OK, but what are the differences between these two series, and which model should you pick? Let me queue up the deals for you, then circle back with the answers.

(Pro tip: If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial here.)

Amazon Fire TV 4-Series deals

The 4-Series may be the “lesser” of the two (though not by much — see below), but it’s also the less-expensive. What’s more, right now you can get any model with a free 3rd-gen Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker. Just add both to your cart and then apply promo code FTVDOT22 at checkout.

See the 4-Series Fire TVs

Amazon Fire TV Omni Series deals

No free Dot here, but built-in hands-free Alexa somewhat obviates the need. Read on to learn more.

See the Omni Series Fire TVs

How to choose

First things first: Obviously your budget and available space will be the main deciding factors for which series and size you choose.

If space isn’t a consideration, you’ll never regret going with a larger screen. Either way, there’s not much money separating the 4-Series and Omni Series — and if that won’t break your bank, I do recommend the latter.

Why? Although the two series are very similar, especially at these sizes, the Omni stands out with a few key advantages — including image-enhancing Dolby Vision in the 65- and 75-inch models and hands-free Alexa in all of them.

Two women on a Zoom call through a big-screen TV. (Photo: Amazon) — Amazon’s Omni Series can do Zoom calls if you plug in a compatible webcam. (Photo: Amazon)

That means you can say, “Alexa, turn on the TV,” or “Alexa, go to Netflix,” without having to touch anything. In other words, the Omni works just like an Amazon Echo smart speaker or display. With the 4-Series, you have to pick up the remote, press a button, then speak your command. (Or not, if you take advantage of the aforementioned free Echo Dot. There’s your hands-free option.)

Such a hardship! OK, not really, but there’s no debating the indulgent convenience of a totally hands-free Alexa experience. The Omni Series also has a physical button you can press to disable the microphones, just in case you have privacy concerns.

Other Omni advantages: picture-in-picture support for, say, checking out your Ring video doorbell feed while watching a show, and USB-webcam support for Zoom and other video calls. (Of course, nearly any TV can do this via products like the Facebook Portal TV.)

Why a Fire TV and not a Roku TV?

Great question! Amazon’s Fire OS, which is baked into these and other TVs (as well as Fire TV streaming sticks), provides the user interface for accessing all the different streaming apps (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon’s own Prime Video, etc.).

I actually find the Roku interface a little easier to understand and navigate, but Fire OS offers one big advantage: games. Using either the TV remote or a sold-separately game controller, Fire TVs let you play Candy Crush, Crossy Road, dozens of Jackbox party games and more.

On the other hand, Roku supports both AirPlay and Google Cast, while Fire TV offers only the former. You can mirror your phone or tablet to the Fire TV to show off photos or the like, but it’s not as easy or convenient.

I recently had the opportunity to review one of Amazon’s Omni Series TVs and came away impressed. It may be a “budget” model, but it’s absolutely good enough for everyday entertainment.

See the 4-Series Fire TVs See the Omni Series Fire TVs